Running Guns
by Mystical Authoress
Summary: Technically AU. Monica, Suwabara, and almost everyone they know are all moonlighting as something else besides being bakers and the like. Three organizations are all against each other since thirty years prior to now, but the game is slowly changing. If there is one statement that they can trust it is this: Letting emotions get in the way of work can mean your downfall.


**Author note: I do not own Yakitate! Japan or the song 'Running Guns' by Alyssa Reid that inspired this. Or the music video for the song that inspired this.**

**Warning: Violence, onesided MeisterxMonica, obvious MoniKai, possible spoilers for Yakitate! Japan, technically somewhat AU.**

**Constructive Criticism would be great, and I hope you read, review and enjoy! Thanks!**

* * *

_**Running Guns**_

* * *

Monica glanced at the tattoo on the side of her neck in the mirror, which was shaped like a black koi fish. She paused, before pushing a couple locks of hair in front of it, concealing the tattoo from view. She had to be careful-otherwise the enemy organizations, Angelous and Dante, would catch her and use her for their purposes. She didn't belong to either of those groups, and she knew the one she belonged to were enemies to them.

The group that had picked her up went by the name of the Sardonyx organization. The type of organization that they were, as well as the Angelous and Dante organizations, were a little like the yakuza that Matsushiro led, but they did more of assassination than anything else. The three organizations were in a war between them.

Thirty years ago, the three organizations were at peace with each other. The daughter of the leader of the Dante organization was going to marry the son of the leader of the Sardonyx organization, as they had decided to join forces to become a more powerful organization together. The daughter and the son were very much in love, and they were pleased by this-it would be terrible if they hated each other. At the day of the wedding, just as the priest pronounced them husband and wife, the daughter was shot by an unknown assassin before everyone's eyes and died instantly.

A game of blaming began. The Sardonyx organization was pitted against Dante for the young woman's death, accusing them for plotting to kill her, and since then they hated each other completely. Angelous was caught in the middle of this issue, and not wishing to fight either of them, declared neutrality in the fight. A year later, they were pitted against both organizations because both organizations believed that Angelous was helping their enemy. Ever since, the three were in a continuous war with each other, each determined to take down the other organization. At least, that was what Monica was told.

They picked her up years prior to the Monaco Cup, where she met and fell in love with Kai. She had been struggling to support her parents and to build her candy castle when they found her. Of course, they didn't know the politics of baking, but they gave her a good sum of money whenever she took on a few tasks for them in secret. She knew how to handle a gun before she was legally allowed to use one. She knew where the weak spots were on a human being, giving her a huge advantage in hand-to-hand combat. When she met Kai, it turned out that he was in the same organization as her, so Sardonyx was pleased that they could be partners in the tasks they took together.

In the daylight, she was the queen of patisserie. When night came around, she became Sardonyx's assassin. Balancing those two identities, as well as her personal life, wasn't easy but it reaped good rewards for her in the most part.

* * *

There was a problem, now. Monica had felt this for the past couple months.

Someone was stalking her. The stalker hadn't sent her gifts or anything, but she could just feel it whenever she walked about the city of Tokyo.

The organization had directed her to keep a low profile, and they didn't give her any tasks for the next few months. She had more time to focus on her job as the General Manager of the Pantasia patisserie branch. She had more time to spend with her friends, and her boyfriend too. That was the nice part of that.

Even though it had been two months since that happened, she still felt the shadow of something looming over her, though she couldn't put her finger on what it was. Kai called her regularly to check on how she was, and despite her telling him that she was alive and walking still, she couldn't shake off those uncomfortable feelings. Heck, even Meister Kirisaki and Shachihoko asked her a few times if she was alright (for some reason they were able to notice her increased stress, though they never found out what exactly it was about) out of concern, but she reassured him that she would be alright, that she was just sick of paperwork and the like.

One day, those feelings of stress just suddenly stopped.

She waited for a few weeks, just in case those instincts returned-just in case if the stalking hadn't continued. They didn't. She heaved a sigh of relief.

She was safe. Sardonyx was pleased, and the organization was ready to give her some new missions whenever she was available.

She told Kai about it, and her boyfriend was pleased, too-that meant that they could actually go out together on a date, rather than hanging around at their apartment that they shared-not that they hated being at their apartment together, but it would be nice to go out once in a while. They set a date for the upcoming Saturday-just a simple going-out to a restaurant and walking around Tokyo together.

She was safe, after all. A simple evening out should be alright. Or so she thought...

* * *

The evening was lovely. She and Kai enjoyed going out to sushi, both chatting with each other happily. As their dishes were being cleared away, she noticed something.

On the arm of a waiter wiping a table, there was a tattoo of a black hourglass. Monica stiffened as the feelings came back-the uncomfortable feelings.

"Monica?" She snapped out of her thoughts to face Kai, who looked at her in concern. "Are you alright?" He asked quietly.

"Yeah, I'm fine..." She leaned in close to whisper to him. "We have to go. Dante has people here. We should pay soon..." Kai nodded quickly, before he went to the counter to pay for the meal. Monica decided it would be alright to wait outside for him-the quicker she got out of this restaurant, the better chance she would have of the Dante organization losing her.

As soon as she stepped outside, she looked around, scanning her surroundings. The uncomfortable feeling grew stronger and stronger...

She couldn't wait for Kai. Not now. She immediately started to run, pushing past people that were in her way. She called for a taxi quickly, before she hopped inside.

"To Shinjuku." She told the driver quickly. She figured that getting into the large crowds at the shopping district there would help her lose track of this stalker. Once she lost that man's tracks, she would call Kai to tell him of her whereabouts-and then they could get back to their apartment, inform the Sardonyx organization about this and go into hiding again.

As soon as she approached Shinjuku, she paid the driver quickly-and noticed a tag hanging from the mirror. The tag was blank, save for a black stencil that looked like an angel wing.

Angelous was on her too, wasn't it? She mentally cursed, before she rushed into the district, hoping to lose her stalker. She passed by a few people that were handing out free toy trinkets-probably to promote whatever they were selling. She decided to take one, a small teddy bear charm, and she noticed the black hourglass on the back of it.

She mentally cursed again. Just how many spies did Dante and Angelous have? She doubted that she would ever know. Dante, Angelous and Sardonyx did have members from all over the world, after all. She deposited the teddy bear charm in a nearby garbage bin, before deciding to continue moving.

Department stores. Themed cafes. Lolita fashion shops. Every where she went, she kept running into something that was either belonging to Dante or Angelous. This wasn't good-the stalker could be figuring out the path she took! At this rate she could be caught.

She ducked into a nearby alley, hoping that no one would follow her into there. Taking out a small gun from her purse, she looked around carefully, ready to shoot if necessary. A shuffle of footsteps echoed, before Kai appeared from the other end of the alley in front of her.

"Kai," she breathed out quietly, lowering the gun a little.

"Monica!" Kai started to run over to her, but suddenly stopped. Monica didn't understand, until she turned towards where he was facing.

A tall figure, a man, stepped into the alley, his head tilted a little to the left in curiosity. His long, blonde hair was down as usual. The clothing he wore was different-more casual looking (dark jeans and a leather vest overtop a white shirt) except for the mask, which was a lacy, midnight black.

Monica immediately recognized him after a moment of looking at him.

"Meister?" She spoke aloud in disbelief. "Is that...you?"

He looked a little surprised at first, but then he smirked a bit-something Kai and Monica both didn't like to see. "Well, well...I didn't think that you would be able to find her so fast, Suwabara-san. Impressive, isn't it?"

"Shush already." Kai growled back, taking out his katana blade. "Don't you dare come any closer or I'll cut you-even if you are part of Pantasia." He threatened.

"You're no threat to me, Suwabara-san, as much as I am no threat to you-I am part of the Angelous." Meister responded, crossing his arms. "I'm part of the more neutral out of the three organizations. It's not in my orders to kill either of you, and I'll have my paycheck cut in half if that happens-even if I get a scratch on either of you. I was merely ordered to keep watch on Adenauer-san specifically, because the Dante organization was stalking her. I suppose they didn't want a fight to start over her..."

"Let me get this straight." Monica spoke up, pointing the gun at Meister. "You're part of Angelous? But-I thought that Angelous was an enemy to both Dante and Sardonyx..."

"Not precisely." Meister responded, pushing a lock of hair from behind his ear and revealing an angel wing tattoo on the side of his neck, albeit faded. "We just try to prevent more fights breaking out from between the organizations. For example, we save them from traps set by the enemy organizations. So, in a way, we are both their ally and enemy." He looked around quietly. "We should go. Now."

"Why?"

As soon as the question left Monica's lips, Meister grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her forwards. A bullet passed by her as soon as it happened. The three looked up to see a few hooded figures-all armed with guns.

"That is why." Meister responded, before starting to pull her along with him. "Run!"

Monica could barely hear anything above the shooting of bullets, her heartbeat racing, and the sounds of the city around her-until she was pushed into the backseat of a taxi and the door closed behind her. She crawled onto a seat as Meister took the wheel, with Kai being in the front beside him.

"Sorry!" Meister shouted at the poor taxi driver who he had left on the curb, before slamming the door shut.

"General Manager, are you actually able to drive this veichle?" Kai asked in disbelief.

"I have a driver's licence, Suwabara-san...I think I'll be able to drive this. Hold on!" The engine revved to life, and the taxi sped faster into the bustling traffic of Tokyo, and farther away from the assassins of Dante.

* * *

They left the taxi in an underground parking lot, before they went into an elevator leading to the main floor. "Are you sure this place is safe?" Suwabara asked suspiciously, looking around. "And are you telling the truth that you belong to Angelous?"

"Yes, this building should be alright-it acts as a safe haven for the Angelous organization members, since Angelous actually owns this hotel. Also, I am telling the truth, and I would prove it to you, but I don't believe it would be appropriate to show you where my tattoo is. I don't want to be stripping in front of both of you in an elevator, nonetheless." Meister answered, sounding a bit embarrassed at the last statement. "I asked for my own mark to be placed somewhere less obvious-so not the face, hands, wrists, or even back or chest...Not even the neck, either, even if it could be covered by makeup. I find using makeup tedious for cover-ups like that."

The three entered the main floor of the lush hotel, which looked like an ordinary hotel floor; complete with velvety furniture and even a TV attached to a nearby wall. Meister motioned for the two teens to not move, before he walked over to the counter.

"I'm checking in for the night." He whispered quietly to the administrator, looking around in case anyone was listening. "13th floor...company of two Sardonyx _allies_." The administrator nodded, before Meister handed him a small card. He then turned towards Monica and Kai. "Let's go."

As they stepped into another elevator, Monica noticed something.

"There's no thirteenth floor." She spoke up after a moment of silence.

"Oh? You heard me?" Meister smirked a bit. "Good ears, Adenauer-san. And that is true...for most ordinary people that walk into here to stay for the night. But as for us Angelous agents, your statement is false." His fingers ghosted over the buttons, before he moved his hand to the empty space beside the buttons and pressed. On the thin screen above the elevator doors, the number thirteen appeared in a neon green, before the elevator started going upwards.

"So, there was a hidden button." Kai concluded. "That's smart."

"If someone else tried that button again, it wouldn't work in that way. The switch for entrance to the thirteenth floor changes among all the hidden buttons so that if enemies got in here to go to the thirteenth floor, they might press the wrong button by accident-it's a ninety-nine percent chance that it will happen."

"That's very smart...What happens if they press the wrong button, though?"

"Poison gas will eliminate them immediately and transport their corpses to the basement, where those corpses will be cremated. Of course, that puts the elevator out of service for a few hours because of the gas but it's the fastest way to eliminate enemies that try to reach any of us hiding here." Meister smiled a little. "I really do talk too much, don't I?"

"Yeah..."

Meister let out a sigh. "Well, Sardonyx won't kill us-or at least, not me-unless I betrayed them, which I don't want to have happening. Sardonyx trusts me because I've actually saved some of their agents once from a trap a while back. Not just that, however...I could be called a double agent, I suppose..."

"Double agent?"

Meister nodded. "I'll explain more as soon as we get to my room. Just wait a few moments."

They went out of the elevator and walked down the hallway in silence, before they stopped in front of a door with the number 666 on it. Suwabara glanced at the other doors in the hallway-each of them was a different number, and none of them were in numerical order. Meister pressed his handprint to a hidden panel beside the door, and the door opened immediately. He ushered them inside, before closing the door behind him.

The room was a decent size-they found themselves in a little kitchen, with a small rectangular table and two chairs at either side of it. A clock hung on the wall facing them, and there were two other doors. Monica guessed that one of them led to a bathroom while the other led to a bedroom.

"I wish I could have a guest room in here, but Angelous likes to be efficient with their space so I cannot provide that for the both of you. You can take the bathroom if you want to sleep in there, or my bedroom. I could sleep on the floor." Meister paused, before speaking up again. "You want to see where my tattoos are?"

Both Kai and Monica paused, before nodding in response.

Meister paused, before turning his back to them and lifting the back of his shirt a little. Both teens saw the small, angel wing tattoo, at the left side of his back just at around his hipbone. He then lowered his shirt before turning back towards them. "Pretty smart, isn't it?"

"So basically no one will see it unless you're naked." Suwabara figured.

Meister let out a chuckle at that remark. "Well, yes, and I'm not willing to get naked for anyone anytime soon, obviously." He glanced at the clock, before speaking up again. "We should get some sleep. You can both take my room..."

"What about you?" Monica asked quietly, concerned. "I doubt it's good for you to sleep on the floor..."

"Don't mind me-I've fallen asleep in the bathroom too many times to count, so I should be fine in there." Meister cracked a small smile at that. "Goodnight."

Both teens found it awkward to share the bed with each other (or at least, Suwabara did), but they were glad that they had a place to stay for the night. As they fell asleep, however, they realized that Meister never answered their question about the double agent thing he had between Sardonyx and Angelous...

* * *

Sardonyx explained quickly to the two the next night about Meister 'stalking' Monica. They had assigned him to keep watch over her because of Dante spies stalking her, and because of Angelous and Sardonyx apparently starting to ally with each other, they figured that a co-worker she knew well and trusted, and not a complete stranger, should watch over her.

"It wasn't easy to keep track of you for the past few months." Meister had remarked on the issue. "You never went out with Kai anywhere during that time, so I almost lost your trail completely. Thank goodness you had the nerve to go out that night-otherwise I would have lost you completely and that wouldn't have been good."

Monica couldn't help but ask him-why did he join in on this fight? He didn't have to-he could have just lived a peaceful life without knowing about this chaotic violence that occurred in the quiet nights.

He had been hesitant to answer that question, but now he was willing to, since Monica knew that he was with the Angelous organization. "It's for Sophie."

"Your sister?" Monica had never guessed that Meister's sister was in on this action, too.

"Yes. She's part of Angelous-the reason I joined was because of her, to support her. And...my father, he and Yukino are...part of..."

"Dante?" Monica suspected this coming.

"...Yes." Meister seemed to stiffen. "I want to protect her from anyone that could hurt her-even if Father, if I must. But...My only concern is, violence isn't going to help end this feud. Violence fuels violence, and hate fuels hate. I can't do much, despite my position as a double agent of Sardonyx and Angelous, but to hope that they realize that fighting each other isn't going to solve their problem."

Meister had a point. Sometimes, Monica herself even wondered at times if all this fighting against Dante was such a good idea. She was sure it wasn't, but...What could she do about it? She wasn't sure.

* * *

Things went smoothly for the next few months. Dante had stopped stalking her for now, Monica was paired up with Meister more often for undercover missions, and the missions were done quickly enough. It was good that they both got belong-it showed in their fighting of enemies and in everything else they did. Monica mised being with Kai, though, and Meister noticed it too well.

"Do you think that Suwabara-san is ever jealous that you're paired more with me than him?" Meister asked one night, after a mission had just been finished.

"Probably." Monica murmured after a moment. "I miss him."

"I figured so." The older man paused, before speaking up again. "I could ask the organization to start pairing you with Suwabara-san more often if you'd like, Adenauer-san. I could always make up the excuse of, well, that you're better off with him or that you're starting to be a hindrance to my work, even though you're not in reality."

"You can do that?" Monica asked, eyes widening slightly as she made eye contact with him.

"Yes. At least, I think so." Meister paused, before speaking again. "I mean, I'm not a double agent for no reason, after all. Surely I have enough right to give a little say in something. It might take some time, but I think I can do that."

She smiled at him quietly. "Thank you, Meister."

"No problem." He suddenly sounded a little sadder as he spoke in response, and she noticed it.

"Is something bugging you?" She asked, her head tilting a little in curiosity. "What is it? You can tell me, you know."

"You know, Adenauer-san..." He paused before speaking up again. "I'm glad I got to know you. You're a strong, young woman who knows what to do, even if no one is there to help."

"You don't need to flatter me." Monica responded, but he continued.

"Adenauer-san, I know it sounds stupid because you probably already know, but I think I like you a lot."

Monica froze slightly, unsure if she heard it right. "Do you mean...as a friend, or...or romantically?"

He looked away from her a little. "Take it any way you want. If you're thinking in the romantic sense, I know that it would be impossible between us-you're better off with Suwabara-san than someone like me, anyway. But I just...thought I'd let you know. Just because."

* * *

The next nights after that, she was never paired with Meister. He must have been able to pull the strings in her favor, because now she was with Kai for every. Single. Mission. But now, it felt a bit painful for Monica-she felt bad that Meister felt these things for her, and that it probably hurt him, too, because those feelings were most likely genuine ones. Heck, she wasn't sure if he had ever liked anyone before her, or if she was the first-she doubted she would ever know. She shook away those feelings for the upcoming mission-letting your emotions get in the way of your work could lead to your downfall when it came to business such as this.

Tonight was an ambush on a secret base in an abandoned factory that belonged to Dante. They were to sneak in, take out everyone there, and transport them to the nearest Angelous or Sardonyx hideout for interrogation. A secondary assignment was to find out if Dante was planning anything that could be against Angelous' or Sardonyx's favor.

Crawling through vents to get into the hideout? Easy. Sneaking past people to find out Dante's plans was easy as well. Getting out of the hideout and also knocking out the Dante troops as well? That was not so easy, and her group was quickly outnumbered. Despite the advantage, they kept fighting them all, one by one, until all of the Dante people were knocked out-or killed, if they kept resisting against the Angelous and Sardonyx organizations.

Monica let out a breath, looking around quietly. The fight had led from the hideout all the way to the street alleys, and now the coast was clear-

The sound of two gunshorts resounded from behind her, and she turned to see Meister, who had just shot a Dante assassin. The assassin fell to the ground, dead. "Meister-" Monica started, to thank him for protecting her at the moment (she and Kai had gotten separated a little earlier while fighting the Dante troops, but she was sure that he would find her soon), but Meister suddenly stumbled onto the ground. "Meister! Are you alri-"

There was blood, trickling from the wound in his stomach. He had been shot-he had taken that bullet for her.

The older man removed his mask. "I'm glad that you're alright." He managed to rasp out. "I couldn't let...couldn't let them hurt you."

"Don't speak! I'll call for backup, quickly!" Monica grabbed her walkie-talkie, ready to start speaking into it when Meister grabbed her wrist. "Do you want to die or not!?"

"Adenauer-san, it's alright...I was wearing a bulletproof vest, the bullet only pierced through that and just barely hit me, really...Nothing to be worried about-"

"Bulletproof vest!?" Monica let out a pout. "Those things should be called bullet _resistant _if a bullet is able to go through them, not bulletproof!"

Suwabara had found them by now, as well as other allied agents. Meister just smiled a little at her.

"I guess I can prove people wrong, at least. That emotions getting in the way of work won't always lead to a downfall."

Monica shook her head. "No...you only got lucky."

He smirked. "I suppose so."

* * *

Suwabara let out a sigh as he embraced Monica. The two were at one of Sardonyx's hideouts, in the hospital area where Meister was being treated in one of the private rooms.

"I'm glad you're safe." Suwabara spoke quietly. He had a feeling of why Meister had protected Monica-it was out of feelings, not out of duty. He was aware of Meister's feelings for Monica by now, and as much as Suwabara was alright that Meister respected the fact that Suwabara and Monica loved each other and that Monica obviously did not feel anything romantic towards Meister, he felt like calling the older man an idiot for letting his feelings get in the way of work. But then again, that had been what saved Monica's life, so he would let that incident slide a little bit. Matsushiro was probably lecturing Meister about the issue, if not Kuroyanagi-those two were in the Sardonyx organization, after all, and also good accquaintances/friends of Meister.

"I'm glad you're alright, too." Monica looked up at Suwabara quietly as she continued. "But...There's something bothering me. Why do you think Sardonyx and Angelous are becoming allies against Dante? I thought Sardonyx and Dante would have both been enemies of Angelous because they accused Angelous of helping the enemy."

"That does bring up a few questions." The samurai paused, before finishing. "I don't know, but I'm sure there must be a reason. I think the only thing we can do is to be patient if we're ever going to know why."

Somehow, Monica had a feeling that she might find out...soon-with grave consequences to follow.

* * *

"I can't believe that you actually risked your life like that. I mean, it's great that you protected an ally, but to let your feelings become involved in your work...that's a big risk, you know." Ryou Kuroyanagi spoke quietly to Meister, who was sitting up in his hospital bed. "I hope that doesn't happen next time."

"I know. I won't let it happen again-for sure. You can count on that." Meister paused, before speaking up again. "How are Suwabara-sam and Adenauer-san doing? Do you think they're ready for the next phase that Angelous and Sardonyx will take against Dante?"

"You mean with you playing the role of puppetmaster in it?" Kuroyanagi asked, crossing his arms. "I doubt they are."

"Good." Meister flashed a small smile, which had a quality to it that was more different than something friendly. "It's good that they're like that-it would test them on their emotional states, to see if they'll make the same mistake I did earlier and be rendered useless for the final phase against Dante, or if they can push past that and become the fighters Angelous and Sardonyx need to take down Dante once and for all."

Kuroyanagi let out a sigh. "You really do like playing games, don't you?"

Meister's smile turned into a smirk. "You know I do."

* * *

**Author note: ...Wasn't expecting for it to end like this-I might have to write a sequel oneshot or something to this, since I ended it this way. I hoped that you enjoyed this fic, and thank you for reading! Also, Happy Fourth of July to everyone celebrating that occasion!**


End file.
